GHY Tradelines

(Barbara Simpson — QMI Agency)

Canadian border officers at two busy international bridges in southern Ontario were back on the job Thursday after a two-day protest against a new rule that requires them to wear name tags.

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada ruled in several cases that name tags don’t put the border officers’ safety at risk. More rulings are expected.

Border officers walked off the job Tuesday night at the the BlueWaterBridge in Sarnia and the AmbassadorBridge in Windsor, leaving managers to deal with big lineups.

Despite the rulings, the Canada Border Services Agency has been ordered to perform a risk assessment on the new protocol, according to Jason McMichael, first national vice-president of the Customs and Immigration Union. Read more here.
 

(CBC News)

Border agents at the Emerson crossing in Manitoba are refusing to work today over a mandatory name-tag policy that came into effect this week.

The Canada Border Services Agency is warning motorists to expect delays and lineups at the Emerson crossing on Thursday, due to “work refusals by several officers at this port of entry.”

The CBSA said the disruptions are because the unionized border officers are refusing to wear name tags — a new policy that went into effect on Tuesday.

Manitoba becomes the second province to see job action as a result of the policy. Read more here.
 

(CBC News)

Female guard in stable condition after gunman dies from ‘self-inflicted’ wound

The Canadian border officer who was shot at a busy crossing south of Vancouver by a lone gunman is expected to make a full recovery, a union official says.

The female guard, Lori Bowcock, was shot in the neck by the gunman, who then turned his gun on himself and died from what police said was “a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

Bowcock, who is in her late 20s, moved from Ontario to B.C. to work for the Canada Border Services Agency a few months ago, the Ontario Provincial Police confirmed Wednesday. Read more here.
 

(CBC News)

A new training centre for Canada Border Services Agency officers opened in Rigaud, about 50 minutes west of Montreal.

Public Security Minister Vic Toews was at the inauguration for the new $57.7 million facility.

He said the centre was built “so that Canadians can be assured that the training that these officers receive is the best in the world for the type of service that they are providing.”

Trainees will take part in a variety of exercises, including simulations to test judgment skills and gun shooting. Read more here.
 

(Adam Miller – The Canadian Press)

Allegations that disgruntled Canadian border agents may have been behind a bogus bomb threat that forced Canadian and U.S. authorities to close the Ambassador Bridge for several hours are “baseless,” leaders of the union representing the agents said Tuesday.

The bomb threat, the second in recent days, was called in around 7:20 p.m. Monday to authorities on the U.S. side of the bridge which links Detroit with Windsor, Ont.

In a news release issued shortly after the incident, the Detroit International Bridge Company, which owns the Ambassador Bridge, said it suspected the bogus threat had “something to do” with announced job cuts at Canada Border Services Agency.

“We cannot confirm, but suspect, that this has something to do with Canada’s disinvestment at the border by cutting back on customs’ agents,” said the statement.

Jason McMichael, vice-president of the Customs and Immigration Union, said he was outraged at the suggestion. Read more here.
 

(Sneh Duggal — Embassy Magazine)

Cuts to the Canada Border Services Agency could impact the country’s Perimeter border plan with the United States or ruffle feathers in Washington, say union and opposition members—but the US Embassy says it has full confidence in Canada, and the Harper government denies frontline positions are being cut.

The Harper government is “negotiating with the Americans…to increase the level of security, and they are cutting these jobs. Where does it make any sense here?” said Jean-Pierre Fortin, president of the Customs and Immigration Union that represents CBSA staff.

“They’re trying to hide the fact that they are cutting the frontline officers. I think they don’t want to scare the Americans away from that reality,” Mr. Fortin said in an interview with Embassy. Read more here.
 

(Postmedia News)

Border services officers walked off the job at the Detroit tunnel and the Ambassador Bridge on Wednesday afternoon demanding the Canada Border Services Agency fix flaws in the policies stipulating how officers are to deal with people considered armed and dangerous.

Only two lines were open at the tunnel and the bridge and staffed by management, Jason McMichael, second vice-president of the Customs and Immigration Union told the Windsor Star, adding that this was in no way a job action nor was it related to the current contract negotiations. Read more here.

Update:

Border Officers Return to Work After Disruption at Windsor-Detroit Crossings

(iPolitics.ca)

It’s business as usual at Canada’s most important trade crossing after CBSA workers “begrudgingly” returned to their Windsor-Detroit border posts early Thursday, following a work stoppage that began 12 hours earlier. Read more here.
 

(Corey Larocque — Niagara Falls Review)

With great power comes great responsibility.

That’s why Canada Border Service Agency officers should be expected to wear name tags, despite their union’s claim it might put their safety at risk.

The union that represents Canada’s customs and immigration officers is bristling at the government agency’s requirement officers wear badges that identify them by name. Right now, members of the public can identify them only by a badge number.

Border officers’ role has changed over the past decade. Once upon a time, their main function was collecting taxes.

Gradually, and especially since 9-11, Canada’s border officers have been given more law-enforcement authority. They have the power to arrest. They carry guns now. There’s no good reason for the public not to know the name of the official they’re dealing with. Read more here.
 

(Rick Fleming — 610 CKTB News)

Customs agents on the Canadian side don’t want you to be able to “say their name.”

According to Sun Media; the Canada Border Services Agency wants them to wear name tags.

The CBSA believes this will allow them to give better service; but the officers don’t agree, citing safety concerns when it comes to dealing with upset travellers or even smugglers.

Customs agents contend name-tags will make it easier for them to be found by people who are upset at their border crossing experience. Read more here.
 

(Steven Chase – Globe & Mail)

The Canadian Border Services Agency is weighing arming its airport staff – who question returning travellers on taxes and duties owed – and has launched a study to assess their chances of “bodily harm or death” on the job.

Ottawa has already issued handguns to border guards at land crossings and marine ports of entry but the border staff at airports have so far gone without handguns – in part because armed police and Mounties already patrol the terminals.

The border agency says, however, it’s also considering giving firearms to uniformed officers at airports after hearing from staff. Read more here.

p style=”LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt” class=”MsoNormal”span style=”FONT-FAMILY: ‘Verdana’, ‘sans-serif’; mso-fareast-: EN-CAfont-family:’Times New Roman’;font-size:8;” (PR Net-USA) ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /o:p/o:p/span/pbr /p style=”LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt” class=”MsoNormal”span style=”FONT-FAMILY: ‘Verdana’, ‘sans-serif’; mso-fareast-: EN-CAfont-family:’Times New Roman’;font-size:10;” o:p/o:p/span/pp style=”LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt” class=”MsoNormal”span style=”FONT-FAMILY: ‘Verdana’, ‘sans-serif’; mso-fareast-: EN-CAfont-family:’Times New Roman’;font-size:10;” On span style=”mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic”Monday, September 27, 2010/span, the members of the Customs and Immigration Union (CIU) will march in front of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Offices at span style=”mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic”400, Place d’Youville in Montreal, Quebec between 7 and 9 am /spanto support their fellow Sisters and Brothers Support Staff (CR and AS) members.br /br /o:p/o:p/span/pp style=”LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto” class=”MsoNormal”span style=”FONT-FAMILY: ‘Verdana’, ‘sans-serif’; mso-fareast-: EN-CAfont-family:’Times New Roman’;font-size:10;” The Customs and Immigration Union has been aware since 2007 that a pilot project is taken place in Montreal, QC to address the issue of CR/AS job descriptions. It was brought about by the fact that there were 185 job descriptions that covered various support staff positions nationally. These descriptions have followed the now CBSA throughout its legacy evolution. Most of these job descriptions have been identified as inaccurate, improperly classified, obsolete, out-of-date and not reflective of duties performed by those members.o:p/o:p/span/pp style=”LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto” class=”MsoNormal”span style=”FONT-FAMILY: ‘Verdana’, ‘sans-serif’; mso-fareast-: EN-CAfont-family:’Times New Roman’;font-size:10;” The Support Staff Community and CIU have been very frustrated with the slow approach and disregard apparent in this process. CIU has been approached by numerous CR/AS members seeking an expedient and fair resolve to their job description and classification issues. Many of these members feel this is also an equity issue due to the fact that it’s predominantly a female dominated group. CIU is looking into this as also being a Human Rights issue. Read more a href=”http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_contentamp;task=viewamp;id=495755amp;Itemid=30″span style=”color:#0000ff;”here/span/a.o:p/o:p/span/p

pspan style=”FONT-FAMILY: ‘Verdana’, ‘sans-serif’; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial”(Chris Cobb — Ottawa Citizen)?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /o:p/o:p/span/ppspan style=”FONT-FAMILY: ‘Verdana’, ‘sans-serif’; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial”The firearms expert chosen to supervise the weapons training of Canada’s border guards has been dismissed by the Canadian Border Service Agency in what his lawyer says is “vindictive and unfair” treatment.o:p/o:p/span/ppspan style=”FONT-FAMILY: ‘Verdana’, ‘sans-serif’; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial”RCMP Sgt. Richard Groulx, one of Canada’s leading firearms trainers, appears to have been unwittingly caught in a bitter dispute between the border guards’ union and senior agency managers in Ottawa.o:p/o:p/span/ppspan style=”FONT-FAMILY: ‘Verdana’, ‘sans-serif’; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial”Groulx remains employed by the RCMP but is now fighting to continue the secondment to CBSA, which began almost four years ago when he was hand-picked to lead the firearms training of the country’s 4,800 border guards.o:p/o:p/span/ppspan style=”FONT-FAMILY: ‘Verdana’, ‘sans-serif’; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial”The union-management dispute is over the arming of customs officers who are asked to take part in joint search operations with the RCMP and other police forces. Read more a href=”http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Border+guards+firearms+trainer+fired+union+calls+move+vindictive/3419621/story.html#ixzz0xLit73E2″span style=”color:#0000ff;”here/span/a.o:p/o:p/span/p

span style=”font-size:85%;”(U.S. Government – Department of State)/spanbr /br /strongExcerpt from interview on CTV’s “Power Play with Tom Clark”/strongbr /br /strongQUESTION:/strong And if we can figure it out in the Arctic, can we expand that and talk about the continent? You know that for many years there was a discussion of perhaps customs union between Canada and the United States as a way of thinning the border, because all that’s happened is that the border, as you know, has gotten thicker and thicker. Can you foresee the day when you might – your country may look at the idea of a customs union as a way of perimeter security for North America, as opposed to fortress America?br /br /strongSECRETARY CLINTON:/strong Well, we’re not looking at that right now. There are those who are writing about it and suggesting it. But I think your larger point is very important. This is the longest, most peaceful border in the world. We are each other’s biggest trading partner. We have an enormous investment in the economic well-being of the other on the side of the border. And my goal as Secretary of State is to begin to clear away any obstacle or misunderstanding.br /br /Now, in an economic downturn such as the world has gone through over the past two years, people get a little bit nervous and become somewhat anxious about their own futures. But we’ve worked through some of the difficult issues already this past year. And I just want to keep teeing them up. Now, we’re not going to make agreements on everything right away, but we are such close allies, we are such good friends, your country has more American citizens living in it than in any other country other than our own. So there’s just so much that connects us, and I want to broaden and deepen our relationship to make sure that we always remain as strong and partnered as we can be in looking toward the future.br /br /Read the complete transcript a href=”http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2010/03/139207.htm”here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Barbara Yaffee — Vancouver Sun)/spanbr /br /bA book by Toronto journalist John Ibbitson suggests we’re overdue for a North American environmental, economic and security accord/bbr /br /A new book is challenging Canadians to consider the benefits of a radical scenario: Erasing the Canada-U.S. border.br /br /That’s right. The two nations would retain their distinct sovereignty but there would be no more passports or work visas.br /br /The continent would see a free flow of goods, services and people; common rules for immigration and refugees; joint inspection of shipping containers from abroad; an integrated terrorist watch list; a system of security enforcement around the perimeter of the continent.br /br /“The worst that will happen is that we may have to adopt American spelling,” posits author John Ibbitson, a Toronto journalist writing on U.S. politics from Washington, D.C. Read more a href=”http://www.canada.com/travel/Here+thought+about+erasing+Canada+border/1602647/story.html”here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(CBC News)br //spanbr /The Canada Border Services Agency is cutting back on overtime staffing across the country just as the United States is increasing its border security measures, sparking concerns among Canadian employees.br /br /The move will mean certain delays for people entering Canada, the union representing border workers said Wednesday.br /br /“The public can certainly expect a longer waiting time to get through,” said Jean-Pierre Fortin, vice-president of the Customs and Immigration Union.br /br /The agency has cut back on its staffing budget, meaning workers at land and airport border control points will no longer be allowed to work overtime during peak periods. […]br /br /In an email to CBC News, the border agency said overtime hours are being reduced in order to manage resources more efficiently. [...]br /br /But Fortin said the union fears border security will be jeopardized. Under one money management measure, for example, guards will stop using gamma ray imaging to scan the contents of trucks, containers and other cargo, which he said will impact “the security of this country.” Read more a href=”http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2009/04/29/montreal-border-0429.html”here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Corey Larocque — Niagara Falls Review)/spanbr /br /bCap on wage hikes covers this year, next two/bbr /br /Niagara’s border officers will feel the pinch as Ottawa tightens its belt by capping wage increases for federal public servants.br /br /New legislation will limit increases to 1.5 per cent a year over this year and for the next two, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said in Thursday’s economic and fiscal statement. Border officers learned last week the government was imposing the restraints.br /br /“We pretty well had a gun to our head, so we had no choice,” said Fred Milligan, president of the Customs and Immigration Union local that represents 375 workers in Niagara Falls. There are about 200 workers in a different local in Fort Erie.br /br /“It’s kind of hard to take. At the same time, we realize there are people out there who are losing their jobs,” Milligan said. “It seems every time something happens, we have to take the brunt of what’s going on.”br /br /Union representatives learned last week of the government’s plan to limit raises in response to the global economic crisis.br /br /“It would apply to all federal public servants,” said Niagara Falls MP Rob Nicholson, the Conservative justice minister. Read the rest a href=”http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1320249″here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Bill Curry — Globe and Mail)/spanbr /br /Federal public servants moved to sidestep a politically charged showdown with the Conservative government yesterday, agreeing in principle to Ottawa’s take-it-or-leave-it final wage offer.br /br /The deal offers more than 100,000 employees represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada a 6.8-per-cent raise over four years. The union had been asking for more, but said Monday that times have changed.br /br /The government threatened in last week’s Throne Speech to legislate a deal if necessary, and called on all departments to find savings. Also last week, Treasury Board President Vic Toews upset PSAC by publicizing an offer to federal employees, describing it as final.br /br /Union leaders and Treasury Board officials worked through the weekend and came to an agreement late Sunday night, PSAC president John Gordon said.br /br /“Given these tough economic times, we feel this is the responsible thing to do,” he said yesterday. Read the rest a href=”http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081124.wPOLunion1124/BNStory/politics/home”here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Richard Brennan — Toronto Star)/spanbr /br /Canada’s border guards have been struggling to meet firearms training requirements, with 12 per cent failing the three-week certification course on the first try, according to internal government documents.br /br /Their union complains the course is compressed into too short a time period, and that the RCMP-based standards are more stringent than those of other police forces across the country, say documents obtained by the Toronto Star through the federal Access to Information law.br /br /“You have to appreciate the fact when (RCMP) recruits go to Depot in Regina, they are there for 16 weeks and that the training they receive for firearms is spread out,” Ron Moran, president of the Customs Excise Union, told the Star yesterday.br /br /Moran said that compares with three weeks of training for border guards, many of whom have never held a gun in their lives.br /br /The training course requires proficiency with a firearm at 25 metres, whereas the distance is 15 metres for other police forces across the country, Moran said.br /br /A Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson said the training standards are set high to ensure the safety of the agency’s staff and the public.br /br /“Candidates are allowed two attempts to pass the course,” Tracie LeBlanc noted by email. “Participants who do not successfully complete the duty firearm course on their first attempt receive feedback and guidance to help them prepare for their next qualification attempt.”br /br /In a controversial move, the Conservative government announced $101 million to be spent over two years in its 2006 budget to begin arming Canada’s 4,800 border guards. The process is expected to take 10 years to complete at an estimated cost of $1 billion.br /br /While the failure rate for the training program was about one in four when the program first started, it is now down to about 12 per cent, compared with a 2 per cent failure rate at the Ontario Police College, the Canada Border Services Agency documents show. Read the a href=”http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/537531″complete article/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Vancouver Sun – Catherine Rolfsen)/spanbr /br /Travellers going through customs at Vancouver International Airport today have faced waits of up to two hours because customs officials are deliberately slowing down lines to highlight a contract dispute, a union president said.br /br /“The officers did tell me today [Friday] that they’re working to the full extent of their work description,” said Sue Neumann, customs excise union president responsible for Vancouver’s airport, sea ports and cruise ships. “This is obviously a reaction, this is not normal.”br /br /The union is currently in a contract dispute with the Canada Border Services Agency, but is not in a legal strike position. Instead, individual customs can choose slow down border crossings by following every detail of their job description. Neumann said that this morning, a plane that would normally be processed in 30 to 45 minutes took 90 to 120 minutes.br /br /But CBSA spokeswoman Tracie LeBlanc said any backups today at YVR are “not a work slowdown” but rather due to a convergence of incoming flights.br /br /And Kate Donegani, a spokeswoman for the airport authority, said although “it’s certainly a busy Friday afternoon here,” there’s no indication the crowds are due to work slowdowns by customs officials.br /br /She said unless the Canada Border Services Agency takes seriously the union’s concerns, “I can see this actually escalating and probably spreading out to other areas” such as cruise ships and sea ports. Vehicle border crossings could also be slowed down this weekend, another union official says.br /br /“The union hasn’t directed anyone to take any job action, but I hear that there are several members that are taking matters into their hands and slowing things down,” Dan Leibel, who represents the customs excise union in southern B.C., said today.br /br /Nevertheless, Leibel said border guards, in order to highlight their grievances, could work “by the book” rather than using their experience – meaning they could take a full four minutes rather than the usual 15 seconds to a minute for processing each car. And commercial vehicle inspections, which often take as little as five minutes, could be dragged on for up to eight hours, he said.br /br /Leibel couldn’t say what is planned at specific crossings. “I’ve heard that some officers in some instances are going to let everyone through without charging them duty,” he said.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Dave Battagello — The Windsor Star)/spanbr /br /Canada Customs officers are so disgruntled with the state of contract negotiations, they’re prepared to stage slowdowns that will make for “a long, hot summer” for commuters, vacationers and truckers at Windsor’s border crossings, a union leader said on Wednesday.br /br /“The union is not calling for a work slowdown of any sort — but our members are really upset,” said Marie-Claire Coupal, 4th national vice-president and the former local union president for 550 customs officers in Windsor.br /br /The union has been without a contract for almost a year and the two sides are far apart in negotiations on salary issues and work conditions.br /br /“Our members are discontented enough to start a slowdown,” Coupal said. “We have no control — that’s the problem. They may take some of these things into their own hands.”br /br /On the cusp of being required to carry firearms and with increasingly demanding work conditions in the new security era, their union has been calling for customs officers to be paid salaries comparable to police and correctional officers.br /br /The union has been seeking a 29.3 per cent salary hike over three years, but the latest offer from the Canada Border Services Agency was for under two per cent annually over four years.br /br /“We’ve done a comparison of work between different police agencies and that’s where we end up,” Coupal said. “That’s the market value.br /br /“It sounds like a lot, but if you look at what we are taking on, it’s not out of line.”br /br /Tracie Leblanc, a spokeswoman in Ottawa for the Canada Border Services Agency, would not comment on the state of negotiations, but issued a statement on the potential for a slowdown in Windsor and other border crossings: “The CBSA will respond quickly to any situation in order to maintain the security of our border and ensure that it remains open to legitimate travellers and goods.”br /br /There are no talks scheduled between the two sides. a href=”http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=a9744210-adc8-4897-9d52-19b42fdcca63″Read the complete article/a.br /br /strongRelated:/strong a href=”http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/editorial/story.html?id=68ef71eb-313d-47ff-bf3c-8da81148ba59″Province Editorial — “Pressure Points”/a